Children of the Drizzling Rain (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
by Icybun34
Summary: UNDER CONSTRUCTION! My guilty conscience is begging me to clean this horrid story up so trust me, dear friends. I will have this new, edited and most likely- vastly different story up soon. It will be one of guilty consciences, poor actions, love, anger, and deceit. The whole shebang. Reviews faster updates, so PLEASE R
1. A Recollection of Prior Heatbreak

"Won't you listen to even just a word of what I have to say?"

The young girl's voice was low, coarse from the intensity of the emotions she fought to repress. Her frame stood before him, in ripped and tattered clothes clinging to a starving frame. She looked pitiful and broken.

It disgusted him.

"What could you possibly have to say to me that I have yet to hear before?"

The girl started at the harsh words. Never had he regarded her so cruelly, so _disconnected. _Were they not kin? How could he abandon her like that?

"But, aniki, I thought-"

"Whatever that may be. It is of no consequence to me. It would serve you well to let me take my leave. And it is in your best interest and preservation to _never_ bother me with your frivolities again. It is over."

The young girl stood there at those words, frozen by the startling sense of change that his departure had set off.

No one. She had but no one anymore. The rest of her kin were well below the ground, rotted and dead from the war that had taken place many years ago. She had grown up not with anything but her aniki… her beautiful, blessed aniki.

And through some troubling occurrence that she was ignorant of, she had been discarded and left to face whatever Lady Fate had set aside for her. He had surely, _intentionally _left her to demise.

She smiled at that, a twisted sort of grimace that comes when your mind descents into the sort of madness that is brought forth by the thought of facing a lonely, forgotten death.

She clucked her tongue in disapproval, her weakened body straightening to accommodate the confidence and drive that her mind had just assumed.

"Well, that certainly won't do, will it?"

_Dearest Aniki, I dare say, we will meet again…_


	2. A Boring Occurrence

^%^%^

"-Yes, it does seem to pose a problem, doesn't it?"

Hiei drifted in and out of Mukuro's banter with Yomi. As usual, their talk of politics meant little to him.

He felt that he should've been at least slightly interested, as her heir, as to what particular matter had them actually discussing with a startling degree of cordiality. Usually, they merely baited and derided each other.

Instead they spoke with curiosity, pondering whatever matter had caught their fancy and, grateful for the peace, he did little to meddle in their affairs.

"Well they certainly have caused quite a bit of turmoil, especially considering it is but one person."

Kurama chimed in, effectively drawing Hiei's attention back to the conversation.

Hiei snorted and Kurama turned to him with a good-natured grin. "I can only assume that that snort means that you don't find this to be in your interest, Hiei?"

Hiei answered his question with a blank stare. Kurama chuckled and lowered his voice.

"It doesn't even bring back the slightest twinge of fond memories of our own similar endeavours, ne Hiei?"

"Considering I haven't heard but one word of this conversation- No."

It was Kurama's turn to snort.

"I dare say I'm not surprised. It is not that terribly interesting. Just some sort of assassin seems to be massacring a large amount of men lately, among which men from both Yomi and Mukuro's armies."

"Hn, so? Perhaps we should thank them for weeding out the weak. An army has no place for those easily killed."

Kurama fought down a smile. "Yes, but for Mukuro and Yomi, who pride themselves on choosing the most capable soldiers, it seems to be becoming a bit of a sore spot to them. Enough even for them to conspire together, surprisingly."

Hiei made another noncommittal sound. "And what are we, their supportive lackeys? I have duties of my own that better require my time than sitting here listening to vengeful rulers tending their wounded pride."

"Oh really, dear Hiei? Then it rather pains me to have to say that we will be leaving tomorrow to meet Yuusuke to join us in assuaging our wounded pride."

Mukuro's voice was light and even but spoken with a wicked delight at Hiei's expense that turned his expression sour.

"What the hell do you need me for, old hag? You have foot soldiers and someone needs to see to it that this place doesn't burn down."

Mukuro laughed. "Hiei, you would burn this place down to the ground as soon as you discover it suits your self-interest, I would sooner entrust that task of watching to the foot soldiers. Besides, you are the heir and, as such, must inevitably learn all the menial tasks that accompany governing a nation."

Hiei scowled and again, Kurama had to resist the urge to chuckle at his closest friend's expense.

* * *

It was no sooner that they set foot on Yusuke's land that a beautiful young demon greeted them. She was tall, almost Mukuro's height which, blessedly (due to the last of Hiei's never-ending growth spurts that happened sporadically and gratefully) had her almost a head shorter than Hiei.

She was slender and willowy with golden eyes and the furry ears and tail of an animal spirit. She wore bangles up to her elbows and around her ankles and was dressed, despite the frigid morning air, in binding leather shorts and a long, flowing tunic. Her dark blue hair trailed long, past the small of her back- thick with wispy curls and her skin shone a pale ivory in the early morning light.

She quirked her head at them and said with the confident tone not befitting that of her servant status.

"My, you royals are quite the early risers."

Seeing Hiei's inquisitive face studying her features, she winked boldly and reached to open the door for them.

"Yusuke-sama has yet to awake from his royal slumber so would it suit you to have some refreshments in the meantime. I daresay it won't be long before Hokushin-san beats him awake which, while it is a very hilarious occurrence to witness, is certainly not the safest and one we should probably avoid for the time being."

Mukuro chuckled at the servant's good nature. "You are but a bold one, are you not?" She inquired, still chuckling. "And yet, quite a good fit for this kingdom considering its ruler."

The demoness curtsied at that. "Thank you, milord. I do my best." She turned to Hiei with another cheeky grin and stated "My name is Chikasha and I will be your guide till the palace is fully awake."

Hiei turned from her daring stare as inconspicuously as he could and gave a noncommittal sound. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Chikasha's grin intensify.

Mukuro watched the encounter with humour, knowing Hiei to discourage any interest from strangers. But Chikasha looked firm in her resolve. Mukuro smirked.

"Well then, Chikasha-chan, why don't you lead the way?"


	3. A Childhood Friend

Hokushin had showed up rather immediately, to Mukuro's displeasure, tugging a drowsy Yusuke with him.

He immediately sent Chikasha on her way, much to Mukuro's disappointment, as her audacious flirting with Hiei was beyond entertaining.

Hiei was mortified to no extent, and unable to inflict the good-natured girl with any sort of damaging word or action, as she was a servant of his comrade Yusuke, he was resolved to take her forward words without any sort of reprieve or retaliation.

Mukuro thought it wonderful and was sad to see it go.

She made a mental note to request Chikasha as their personal guide for the remainder of the trip as soon as the right time arose.

It was nice to see Hiei so openly terrified.

* * *

^%^%^%^

* * *

Hiei couldn't believe to have found her here- a fixture from that fleeting childhood of his- someone that he had once looked upon with an unyielding sense of admiration and hot, ugly jealously. She was here. And a servant, of Tourin no less.

He could still see her clearly, her body shorter and more rounded with childhood fat, as she countered and met every attack thrown her way. Shigure would always grin as he fought her, cursing her lightly in her native tongue as she met his calculated blows with the iron-clad will that only an idealistic adolescent could possess. She would hiss and growl, her tail wrapped around her waist in protection as she dipped, dove, and sprinted in attempt to outwit her beloved master.

She was strong- incredibly so- in a way that always made Hiei sneer and his body feel warm. He watched her with an obsession, trying to discover her strategy before even Shigure could and so he could some way feel equal to the animal spirit that sparred before him.

But he never could- and he hated her for it.

After he had left Shigure, his new Jagan in place, he had thought to himself (with a sort of embarrassing relief) that he would never see her again. He would never be humbled by her presence, cursed with the desire to be accepted by her, nor tortured by the friendship that she constantly offered him and he could never bear to accept. She would become a figment of his past. His opponents would never wander into a fight with him and know that he was the weaker of the two- that he had fought and bled to be her equal and had left a bitter failure- they would only know him as the strong fire-beast that had killed them.

But she continued to interrupt his new life with sporadic encounters and offers of a lasting comradeship, flitting in and out of his life (despite his insistence that he daren't ever wish to see her face again) on her own whims. She would appear, a cheeky grin in place, her arms usually filled with some sort of food that she would sit down and cook while she talked to Hiei.

Even with his sparse participation, she would diligently sit there and continue on speaking, divulging tidbits of her current life as she saw fit.

But to learn now that she had an actual, menial task in life and was no longer the roaming, seductive juvenile of his earlier years was startling to say the least. He wondered briefly what Shigure thought but he supposed that she had long since lost contact with him. She was flighty at best.

He briefly entertained some interest in the thought that they had both turned from Shigure and ended up settling down into positions among a kingdom but found that he didn't care enough to continue on with the train of thought.

Hiei had no sooner arrived at the room allotted to him during their stay before he noticed that she was already there, sat atop his bed with a box of sweets.

She offered the box to him, her eyes crinkling as she gave him a cheeky little grin.

How foolish to assume that she had changed in any way.

As the silence stretched on as she munched on candies, Hiei managed to find his voice. "I never assume you one to willingly act on and obey the pretty orders of others."

She swallowed and grin. " Don't worry, I make my own fun." She winked at him. "My darling sensei didn't train me for naught."

She patted the seat next to her "Since you have nowhere to run to in this foreign territory, my dear friend, why don't you just admit defeat and sit and listen to my poor attempt at conversation?"

Seeing her eyes sparkle with childlike mirth, exactly identical to the eyes that had once fought for his friendship many years again, Hiei felt himself give in.

"Hn. I guess I have no choice."

She just giggled.


End file.
